The council launched its waste management strategy at an environment committee meeting on Wednesday last week. Councillors disagreed on the merits of energy from waste incinerators, but supported a target of burning 40% of Surrey's waste by 2007. The council has pledged to treat waste as near to its source as possible. It has established targets and pushed for the provision of local recycling facilities in response to the Government's national waste strategy. The Government has set recycling targets of 25% by 2005 for local authorities within their strategies.

In the next three years, authorities will need to double the level of recycling to meet the 2005 figure. For Surrey, this means an increase from around 8% to near 17%. The council's head of environment and economic policy, Mark Hammond, said: "Most of agree that we do support waste to energy plants." He added that he was sure the recycling targets could be achieved. Tom Sharp (Lib Dem, Guildford South) said: "I strongly regret that the Government has done nothing at all about the actual volume of waste that should enter the waste stream."

Jim Maxwell, (Con, Shepperton) said: "We have got to support energy from waste plants - there are no ifs or buts about it." And Liz Pinn, (Lib Dem, Reigate East) pointed out: "We are going to have to have much more recycling, so we need as few energy from waste plants as possible." Daniel Kee, (Con, Reigate North) commented: "Even in America, they are still extremely worried by the effects of emissions (from energy from waste plants). "Until that has been addressed they will not be at all welcome in the county." Planning applications for incinerators have already been received from Surrey Waste Management for plants at Capel and Redhill, and an application for an incinerator at Guildford from Thames Waste Management is imminent.